Here We Are as in Olden Days
by Punzie the Platypus
Summary: Mid-season 6. At an education rally both Russell and Santos are speaking at, Mr. and Mrs. Moss are visiting Donna out on the campaign trail. They recognize Josh as her old boss from the White House and speculate about him; Josh keeps silent as Donna defends him, despite how they left their relationship. It wasn't a good time for the meeting of the parents, anyway. J/D


**_Soli Deo gloria_**

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own The West Wing. Or Mitchell International Airport. Or Have a Merry Little Christmas.**

**Merry Christmas! I'm on the verge of watching The Election part I + II. West Wing is almost over. ! **

**This is set towards the end of Season 6. **

It was at an education rally in Madison, Wisconsin, maybe six weeks out on the official campaign trail. After the disaster that was New Hampshire, all Josh was trying to do was make people not misunderstand his candidate. Try to get them to know who he was when he, Santos's own campaign manager, couldn't even pinpoint the guy and what he would do next.

Josh felt that they were just playing catch up to Russell. Hoynes was out of state, thank God, but he felt that even _they_ stood a better chance against Hoynes for the Democratic Party Nomination. They were second after Russell at this Midwest Conference of Teachers' Unions; still, while Russell didn't have any education plan, even his lack of one would be better received than Santos's mortifying purge of the inundated, unchanged teachers' system.

It wouldn't be a well received speech, but Madison was on the way through the Midwest on their way down to Texas. It made sense, logically, to do this rally, even if it wouldn't provide much benefit to Josh's candidate. It would get Santos introduced to the northern Midwest and it would bring up the issues and it would put him up there with Russell, almost as if to say, 'Don't forget that there is going to be another choice for the Party Nominee besides the VP!'

Russell was up on stage repeating the same joke he'd told at the past seven events. Waiting backstage, Josh watched Will Bailey take notes and put up a good face in the face of dull humor. Josh checked his cellphone repeatedly; he'd gotten off a phone call with the Congressman two minutes ago; he and the Mrs. were on their way from the car, which hit a bunch of red lights. Josh had migrated down before Ronna and Bram to appraise the battleground. He wasn't worried about Russell and his lackluster stage presence as much as he was about the substance of his candidate's speech, but he didn't betray that to anyone around him. None of these Russell folks needed to know. He'd mastered a poker face for this campaign, something he wasn't quite able to pull off during his tenure in the White House. Or so he chose to believe.

He saw Donna pass behind a curtain backstage and hurriedly looked away. Glanced at his phone and tapped the tip of his shoe against the floor and hurried the Santos' through the back stage door with his mind. He was faking indifference when he heard some male voice say behind him, "Say, Donna, isn't that Josh Lyman? Your old boss from the White House?"

"Oh Bob, it is! He was there in Germany with Donna after her accident!" Another voice, an older woman's, broke in.

Josh pretended disinterest even as his ears perked up. He wanted to hear the rest of this as much as he wanted to turn around and meet both of Donna's parents officially for the first time ever. She'd sprinkled them into so many countless anecdotes during their day-to-day schedules at the White House over the years that he felt that he knew them already. Every December she'd sit on the edge of his desk and he'd sip his coffee and look over her shoulder as she showed off the latest Christmas card her parents sent her—they were full of ugly sweaters, numerous cats, and classic Wisconsin snow and lights. She always talked so enthusiastically of her parents. How they missed her every year, but couldn't be more proud of their girl working in the White House. He could feel the love in her face and voice when she talked about them.

"Yes, that is my old boss. He's working for the Santos Campaign. I told you that, Dad," Donna said, almost like a cover-up.

"He's the one who worked her to the bone and didn't let her have a social life, isn't he?" Big Papa Moss asked, making Josh cringe and wonder if he was about to get walloped up the back of his head by an old man.

"_I _didn't let myself have a social life, Dad. I was a workaholic," Donna said. "I'm one now."

"Didn't he call you to the office when you were on dates a lot, honey?" Mrs. Moss wondered.

"Mom, that was my choice too. I didn't have to answer."

"He didn't put your job up on the line when you spoke out of turn, threaten firing you, or hold the prestige of working in the White House over your head?" Mr. Moss wondered.

"You know what, Dad, he never did. I worked my ass off working for him, but he worked his ass off, too. It's what we both did. But that's over now. That was . . . a while ago. We've moved on. _I _moved on.

"Speaking of moving on, who wants to go meet Will Bailey? He's the campaign manager of Russell's campaign . . ."

"Is that the pale white guy over there biting his nails?" Josh bit his lip to hide a reflex chuckle. Mr. Moss's voice didn't sound bustlin' full of confidence. "You should be the one running the campaign, not him."

Josh held back what he wanted to say to enter this conversation that he could ignore no longer: "If she did, she'd do a way better job than him. I'd be worried, then," but held back. He held back because he couldn't admit to Donna that he could hear their entire conversation. Couldn't admit that he saw the way she defended him even after the way he treated her, and that he was ashamed that he took her for granted for far too long.

He wanted to bulldoze into the conversation; he wouldn't make any cheese puns, just like he did for her aunt and uncle. He would be respectful; he'd give kudos to their daughter. But he wouldn't if Donna didn't make the first step. It wasn't pride; he just didn't want to do something she might not want. He wanted Donna to make the first move or he would do nothing. He didn't want her to feel like he was intruding on her life. He'd done enough of that.

"We don't want to meet Will Bailey. Donna, introduce your father to Mr. Lyman. He was very nice and polite in Germany, Bob. A little distant, perhaps, while that Colin boy was so attentive, but he wasn't so when you worked for him, was he, Donna? According to Donna, Bob, he could be quite thoughtful at times!"

"'At times' being the key phrase here." Josh could feel the underlying humor hidden in Donna's voice and almost hurried out of sight when Donna inhaled and said, "Sure. C'mon, Dad, Mom."

Josh stopped mid-step just as applause filled the backstage as Russell delivered his final remarks. Josh looked up as Donna's eyes flickered between the curtain and then his eyes. A panic existed in them, torn between the situation she owed now and the situation she owed in the big picture. She wanted to introduce her parents to Josh, perhaps just to shut them up, but Bob Russell just walked off-stage and now her parents were shaking the Presidential Candidate's hand.

Josh's eyes flickered between her and the sudden arrival of the Santos' surrounded by their entourage. He swallowed and gave her the slightest of acknowledging nods before he was engulfed in his sea of people. Donna watched him a second more before her attention was pulled away by Will Bailey and the Vice President.

* * *

Two weeks before President Santos's Inauguration, Josh met Donna's parents officially when they picked up Donna, him, and his mom at the Mitchell International Airport the day before Christmas Eve. Josh wondered how the official meeting of the parents would go when you added his own mom into the mix, but it was all right. Mrs. Moss brought black-eyed Susan cookies for the ride back to their condo; she and Mrs. Lyman made their almost middle-aged children's ears go red with stories from their childhood up until recently; and Mr. Moss, after talking a few minutes with Josh, asked him to call him Dad. "Mr. Moss just seems too formal," he said as explanation.

"Josh tends to call people by their highest ranking titles to start with," Donna said as explanation as she squeezed Josh's arm.

Josh bit his lip. "I'd say Dad ranks the highest of any title," he said quietly.

Donna said, "Oh, Josh," in such a quiet voice as only he could hear her.

They watched their parent load into the Mosses' minivan, mounted with snow tires and everything, and Josh turned to Donna. "I think it's better that it turned out this way anyway," he said. "I like meeting your parents not known as the guy who was ruining their daughter's life."

"Yeah," Donna said, grinning at him before kissing his cheek and feeling happy about being free to do just so, "me too."

**It's nice when something comes into your life at the right time. You couldn't enjoy it more or have understood it more than at that time. I believe that is what happened with me and West Wing. I never would've appreciated it any more than I have in 2019. It's sad that it's almost over for me, but endings are okay. They're just as important as beginnings. **

**Thanks for reading. Merry Christmas! Review?**


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